Steering mechanism for automobiles



Jan. 12 ,1926. Y 1,569,733 F. E. FANSLER STEERING MECHANISM FORAUTOMOBILES Filed June 26. 1924 E 1il l0 Frederick E; Fansler:

Streuung gmac no'c Fatented Jan. 12,` 192.

f UNi'iEDl STATI-:s

FREDERICK E. nANsLnn, lF Aerox, INDIANA.

sTEERINGI/InoIIANIsIiI non. AUTOMOBILES.

Application filed Junec26, 19247:. Serial No. 722,614.

To all eoiom t may concern.'

` 'Be it known that I, FREDERICK E. FANS "LER, a citizen -of the UnitedStates, residing at Acton, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,haveinventedicertain new and useful Improvements in SteeringMechanism'forAutomobiles, of which the following is-a specification. i n

My said invention relates to an automo- I bile steering control `andanti-rattling device bearings.

Referring to the accompanying `drawings which are made a part hereoiland on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts,

Fig. 1 is a detail view showing Aportions having my device applied.thereto, I

.Fig. 2` is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the `line 2-2 Fig.1, y

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing t-he preferred mode of attaching theends of the springs to the clamping elements.

In the drawings reference character indicates the front axle of an'automobile having a tie rod 11 and a steeringrod 12; the 1 axle 1() andtie rod 11 are in substantially the same horizontal plane while thesteering rod'12 extends at an angle to the plane of the tie rod and axleand is increasingly elevated `from said plane.

Extending between the axle 10 and the tie rod 11 at substantially rightangles thereto andV preferably intermediate theirI ends are a pair ofcoiled springs 13 which have their ends secured Vbetween the sides of anaxle clamping element 15 and a tie rod of the parts to wearand vrattlein their Vsteering 'rod 12, Asaid springs having their endsl lsecuredbetween Athe sides ofthe. tie rod clamping element `16 and the steeringrod clamping element 18. i

The axle clamping element 15, the ytie rod clamping lelement 16 and thesteeringfrod clampingelement 18 are preferably formedV TENT oFFicE.

from sheet metal of about 1/8 ofan inch in thickness and 1- to 6 inchesinwidth. Said clamping Velement 15 coinprisesa pair ot correspondinglyshaped members havingl their forward ends turned/inwardly and rearwardlyto engage the upper and lower f edges of the conventional 'I-beam'axle.The

rear ends of said similarly formed members are correspondingly aperturedfor the reception ot bolts 17a and by means of which the ends of thesprings 13 and the' axle clamping element are iirmlyr secured inposition on the axle.v .i l'

'.lhe rod clamping element `l'comprises a pair oisimilarly'shapedmeiiibers having semi-cylindrical depressions withiianges extending from the opposite sides thereof, said fianges beingprovided with apertures for the reception ot boltsl') and of the frontaxle tie rod and steering rody 191and by means of which the ends of thesprings 13 and 14 and the tie r'od clamping element are firmly securedon the tie rodk 11".

As shown in Fig. 3, means is provided for'.

permitting a slight movement of the endof:

the spring with reference to the clamping member to which it. isfastened. This pre-A vents any unnecessaryA strain on the end of thespring and obviates the breaking ofthe hooked end ofthe spring. As shownspace grooved or cupped peripheries are inserted on the bolts betweenthe ends ot the clamp ing members and are freely rotatable thereon ltoallow necessary movement. of the springs. Obviously the elementsQO mightbe used or dispensed with at the end of each spring but from experiencel find lit suiiicient to use the same only at the ends of the springs13. f Y l i The steering rod clamping element comprises a `member havinga cylindricall body portion withr substantially perpendicular flangesextending from one edge, said flanges provided with apertures for thereception of ing elements 20 formed of disks having Y ciently to allowthe obstruction toA be over' come or avoided and will then bring thewheels back to their proper position. Any deflection of the car from itscourse is accordingly prevented and the wheels are promptly broughtbaclr in line by the action of the springs. In previous devices of thisnature only a single spring has been used, and then only between theaxle and tie rod, however, by providing` spaced springs' as shown, whenone wheel strikes an obstruction the opposite wheel is suddenly forced'forward and as a result of which there is a tendency on the part of theopposite wheel to respond with a sudden compensating` movement forwardand the course of the car deflected. Such tendency is counteracted andthe wheels are promptly brought back to normal position by thesemi-resisting` action of the spring which is positioned the nearer toit the ultimate effect of which is to reduce the strain on the driver.This result has been verymaterially felt in the operation of a Fordautomobile the device having been found to be very effective inrelieving the comprising clamping elements for attaeh i ment to thefront axle, tie rod and steering rod of an automobile, a spring memberconnecting said axle and tie rod clamping element and an additionalspring member between said tie Irod and steering rod clampin g elements,substantially as set forth.

2. A stabilizing and anti-rattlingdevice for the steering n'iechanismoian automobile con'iprising a spring member between the axle and tierod of an automobile, a spring member between the, tie rod andsteeringrod of said automobile and meansy for securing the ends of saidspring members to said axle, tie rod and steering rod of saidautomobile, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination in an automobile, of a clamp secured to the axleintermediate its ends, a roller between the jaws of said clamp, a secondclamp secured to the tie rod in opposed relation `to said nist-mentionedclamp, a roller between the jaws of said last-mentioned clamp, and aspring member Ahaving one end encircling the periphery of JeachI of saidrollers, substantially as set ort i.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Acton,Indiana, this 18th day of June, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-four.

FREDERICK E. FANSLER. [n s]

